SPACE Newsletter

NEWSLETTER for July, 2004 President’s Corner by Michael Current July, 2004 Happy Birthday SPACE! Our Atari computer club was established 22 years ago this month. Congratulations for your part in making this club possible--your appearances at our monthly meetings, your purchases of our great DOM's, your volunteer work for the club, and especially for your membership. We all know how important each and every membership is to this club. I hope you feel as much pride as I do that SPACE continues to serve Atari 8-bit users today, as we have for more than two decades now. Come to the meeting this month to celebrate! Greg's article in this issue spells out the details, but Subway subs are planned. Thanks to all for helping with the party! Another quick plug for the SPACE Online Forum at http://www.ilmarinen.us/forum/ that Nolan has put together. I've participated a little bit, and there've been a small number of postings by other users as well. I admit, I've never been much of a BBS user at all, but this online forum is extremely easy to use, just point your web browser to the URL and check it out. Nolan's done a fantastic job with it. Another pleasant surprise as I work to weed out outdated information from my vendors/developers FAQ. Turns out that JTM of Mason City Iowa is actually still there and still supporting the Atari and their dedicated weather station program. I'm not sure where I first heard of it, but it made it into my list many years ago somehow. See the vendor’s list online for current contact info! You never know who's still out there supporting the Atari!

warning was issued for the Twin Cities area just as I was getting ready to leave for the meeting. I was concerned about the weather when I got home from work, so I left for the meeting about fifteen minutes earlier than usual. I guess I did the right thing as the storm hit when I got to within a mile of the meeting. It rained cats and dogs and I thought that if nobody had shown up I wouldn't be surprised. George was waiting in the lot when I got there and we both ran to the door to get in out of the heavy rain. Glen made it shortly after and then at about 7:20 when it was just us three I thought that was going to be it for the month. Thankfully Bill and Nolan showed up just as the storm was winding down, and so just like the last two months we ended up with five members present. I was hoping for a good turnout in June because we were going to plan our July Birthday Party. This is what was decided: The Club will furnish Sub-Way subs and potato salad and the following members will bring the following: Greg - pop Glen - ice cream Bill - cookies Lance - chips ?? Anyone else who can attend next month can bring plates, napkins and forks. I sure hope we can get more than five members to show up for our SPACE Birthday Party. Here is the Treasury outlook for the month ended June 30, 2004. Beginning balance for June 1, 2004:

816.92

Receipts for the June meeting: Dom's

6.00

SPACE home page counter update: as of 6/26/04, 9:10pm: 1,898 page views since June 7, 2003.

Expenses for the June meeting: Room rental-first two quarters for 2004 BBS for June 2004

150.00 10.00

Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting and birthday party, Friday July 9, 2004.

Total expenses for the June meeting:

160.00

Ending balance for June 30, 2004:

662.92

Treasurer's Report by Greg Leitner For June, 2004

Well, the June meeting tops it all. Nothing was going to stop members from the June SPACE meeting. But I forgot about Mother Nature. In the Winter it is a factor, but the Spring and Summer months, no way! It happened anyway, a severe

As you can see the room rental even at $25.00 per month is going to be a big drain on our Treasury. What we need are members to show up and support the Club by renewing their memberships and buying the disk of the month. As I see it now the Club will lose money every month with just paying the $10.00 for the BBS. After the party next month I would estimate the Treasury to be sitting at $600.00 or thereabouts. I almost had my hands on some 8-bit Atari stuff last month, but when I called the guy to make an appointment to pick the

stuff up he had changed his mind, and decided to sell it one of his relatives. I asked to him to do us a favor and at least mention the Club to the new Atari owner. So there still isn't enough items to have an auction. It seems like it's been a year since the last one.

There is another new user on the SPACE Forum. The forum's areas have been changed around and many new areas have been added - an Announcement section and several areas related to the different types of Atari systems. More discussion about the SPACE forum follows in Old Business.

I had a bad experience with my XE when I booted it the other day. I got a red screen and nothing else. I didn't have any problems with it the last time I used it so I was baffled to what was wrong. I hooked my 800XL to the same monitor and it worked just fine so I guess the video chip is bad. I hope Lance does repair work on the XE's because I would sure like to get it working again.

And in Old Business....

Nolan is staying very busy with the BBS and Atari forum and I promised him I would make a real effort to log on this month. I am lucky to get to my e-mail once or twice a week now. I think sometimes we see our grandkids more than their parents do. Oh well, they are really great kids and lots of fun to be around. Nick is in soccer now and we spent four hours on Saturday watching his three games. I got sunburned pretty bad. Monday evening is another game and Tuesday is another practice and so it goes. I hope to see a big turnout next month for the Birthday Party. What do you say? I hope to see everyone there.

Secretary's Report By Nolan Friedland For June, 2004

Apparently the SPACE BBS is listed on the USBBS BBS List. It was mentioned that the BBS listed there to be "unavailable". However, there appears to be another version of the list that doesn't seem to have this problem. Our BBS Operator, Nolan, said that efforts were made to update the list but it appears that either the list isn't updated anymore, or the list IS updated but only once in a while. Nolan will attempt to contact the necessary people to update that list as well as other BBS lists that are available. It was mentioned that there have been problems logging on to the BBS. Nolan said that all was going well and that there shouldn't be any problems. He will continue to monitor for any problems that might arise. Nolan did mention that the SPACE BBS and the SPACE Forum are two totally separate entities, each having their own login system. The BBS, of course, is accessible via Telnet and the SPACE Forum is an actual website. Nolan said that he would clarify login procedures for both in the next BBS Corner column. David Sherwin who was doing a "super newsletter" hasn't been heard from since he did the first installment. It is unknown as to whether he will continue. And in New Business....

Meeting started at 7:35 p.m.

A new form of high-speed Internet, called "Powerline Internet", was briefly discussed.

Greg welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked everyone for coming. Then, I read the Secretary's Report for last month.

Greg mentioned that he almost had a whole bunch of Atari 8Bit stuff for an auction. He missed out getting the items since the seller sold everything to someone else instead.

Last month we sold one DOM and paid out $20 for two months for the BBS phone. The bank balance went from $833.92 down to $816.92. It was also mentioned that $150 was also paid out to cover the room rental through June - The room rental is not yet reflected in the bank balance.

The SPACE Birthday Party is next month. After discussing what food we would have and who would bring what, this is the result:

For the DOM this month, there are more file from the PACE folder. Side A contains Dandy - A graphical multi-level adventure game. Side B is full of Koala pictures with an automatic display program.

~ Approximately 10 foot-long subs from Subway ~ Potato Salad from Cub Foods

We are still holding at 13 paid up members.

~ Greg - Pop, Napkins, Forks, and Plates ~ Lance - Chips ~ Glen - Ice Cream ~ Bill - Cookies

For the BBS this month the website counter is up to 1034 from 976 last month. The Telnet BBS Listing counter is now at 1378 and the Dial-up BBS Listing counter is up to 564. We are still holding at 30 users on the BBS, but it was noted that many logins are using the "guest" account – those people that want to try the BBS out, but don't want to actually sign up for extended access.

SPACE will pay for the following:

Additional items that people will bring:

Meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.

BBS Corner By Nolan Friedland For May, 2004

Nothing Received This Month For The BBS Corner.

********************************************* A-T-A-R-I Answers-Tips-and-Relevant Information by Paul Alhart paulalhart@hotmail.com 1988.9 COMPATIBILITY. Now there is a word we are all familiar with. It doesn't matter what brand of computer you use, sooner or latter you have to worry about compatibility. You need to know if the new hardware you plan to get will work with your system, if the new system you want will run your old software, or the new software will run on your system. With so many third party vendors of hardware and software in the Atari market place this can get to be a real problem. Whenever a product is upgraded or improved something has to change. With every change the door to compatibility inches closed a little more. Atari has done an outstanding job of keeping it's 8-bit computers and hardware compatible with each other. Even so, unexpected problems can and do show up from time to time. Some of the early 1050 disk drives would not work with some of the early XM301 modems for example. 1200XL computers can't be used with devices that draw power from the computer, like interfaces and modems, unless the current limiting resistor R63 is by-passed. ICD's P. R. Connection has trouble with some software like AtariWriter+ unless the hardware loaded RS-232 handler is disabled. Anyone with an XL/XE machine knows about the TRANSLATOR which lets their machine run many 400/800 programs that would otherwise not be compatible with the XL/XE operating systems. Lately a new problem is showing up. Disk drive compatibility. For most software, a drive is a drive. As long as the drive can operate in the density the disk is written in, No problem. But add copy protection and look out. Newsroom, recently released for the Atari by Springboard, requires a 1050 or compatible drive that reads enhanced density disks. If you own a Rana, Indus, or other drive that will read enhanced density you should have no trouble, Right? Wrong! It has been reported that some Indus drives will not run this program. Another example is Hardball by Accolade. It won't run on a Rana drive. Early releases of Flight Simulator II by SubLogic seems to have trouble with anything except Atari drives. I am sure there are more examples, and with the introduction of the XF551 double sided drive by Atari there are bound to be more. Another thing to watch out for is is the distinction between XL/XE and the 1200XL. Antic's review of Newsroom says it requires an XL/XE with at least 64K of memory. My 1200XL

fits this description, but won't run Newsroom because it doesn't have built-in Basic which can be switched on & off by the software. Video Vegas is another example of this compatibility problem. Newsroom does specify the machines it will run on on it's packaging, but most of the ads don't. I am not trying to place blame, pick on, or run down any of the above mentioned hardware or software. Rather, I want you to be better informed so you don't get burned. Always read the hardware requirements on software before you buy. Check with your local user group members to see if any of them have experience with the product you are interested in. If possible, try the hardware or software with YOUR system before your purchase it. At the very least, make arrangements with the vendor for returning the product if it won't work with YOUR system. This week I was in Ventura and stoped by the Federated store to see what they had for Atari. They have a good selection of hardware from the 2600 to the 130XE and the XE Game System, A fair selection of software if you are looking for games, And a GREAT DEAL. They are offering a new 800XL packaged with a XF551 double sided disk drive and a XM301 direct connect 300 baud modem for only $199.00. The disk drive lists for over $200 by itself and all the units come with full warranty. So if you were looking for a USED system to save some bucks buy a new one instead. Ventura's Federated is located at the intersection of 101 and Telephone Road.

********************************************** New York, New York, June 24, 2004 – Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) today announced that it has shipped 2.5 million units of its highly anticipated DRIV3R to retails outlets worldwide. Since DRIV3R hit store shelves on June 21 in the U.S. and June 22 in Europe and Australia, consumer demand has been extremely strong. “Our worldwide shipment is right in line with our plan for DRIV3R,” said Bruno Bonnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Atari. “The global Driver fan base is as robust and passionate as ever, as indicated by retail reaction in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, and other key territories,” Mr. Bonnell stated. At Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: ELBO), one of the largest specialty retailers for video games in the U.S., Debbie Mola, Divisional Vice President of Merchandising, said "With just three days of sales, DRIV3R is certain to be one of our top three sellers for the month of June. We had high expectations for the title and it is meeting them." DRIV3R for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft is currently available worldwide with an estimated retail price in North America of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of ‘M’ for Mature. For more information on DRIV3R, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.DRIV3R.com. In addition to DRIV3R, during the month of June, Atari also released Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors (GBA), Duel Masters: Sempai Legends (GBA), Shadow Ops: Red Mercury

(Xbox Live); and Backyard Baseball 2005 (PC).

********************************************** BEVERLY, MA, June 23, 2004 – Fast-paced fighting and energy attacks highlight the fierce intensity of the Dragon Ball Z® experience as Atari (Nasdaq: ATAR) today announced it has shipped Dragon Ball Z®: Supersonic Warriors™ for Nintendo Game Boy® Advance. Now for the first time ever in a Dragon Ball Z® video game, fans can take their battles skyward by launching explosive aerial assaults on opponents, just like in the animated series. “The DBZ® franchise has established itself as one of the premier fighting franchises and we are proud to continue offering experiences that capture the essence of the property,” said Nancy MacIntyre, vice president of Marketing for Atari’s Beverly Studio. “With Supersonic Warriors, Atari goes a step further in the recreation of the animated series by adding aerial maneuvers and in-flight battles to an existing foundation of enticing gameplay, authentic characters and deep storylines.” Developed by Banpresto, Dragon Ball Z®: Supersonic Warriors™ combines traditional 2-D fighting with free-flight, aerial combat and allows players to assume the roles of 15 characters from the TV series including Goku®, Vegeta®, Cell®, Frieza® and Buu®. Players can engage in massive tag team battles and experience the DBZ® saga in an all-new way -- complete with alternate endings to famous DBZ® storylines. With intense brawls, thrilling flight mode and unforgettable characters, Supersonic Warriors offers fans a chance to take the challenging action of DBZ® everywhere they go. Rated ‘T’ for Teen, Dragon Ball Z®: Supersonic Warriors™ is available for Game Boy® Advance at a suggested retail price of $29.99. For more information on Dragon Ball Z®, visit www.dragonballz.com.

********************************************** LOS ANGELES--June 7, 2004-- Atari, Inc. and Reflections Interactive are pleased to announce that development is complete on DRIV3R, the highly anticipated driving action game for the Xbox(TM) video game system from Microsoft and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. DRIV3R will be available in North America on June 21 and in Europe and Australia on June 22. "The Wheelman is back...and in a big way," said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Atari. "Everything that was great about the previous two games - the awesome driving, deep storyline, film-like cinematics and the feeling of ultimate cool - has been amped to the next level in DRIV3R. With amazing new technology, Reflections has blown away every other game in the genre in terms of driving physics, graphics, and vehicle destruction to create the ultimate movie-like action game." The next evolution of Driver, one of the most successful

franchises in video game history, DRIV3R is an action-packed driving adventure game that recreates the excitement of a Hollywood blockbuster car chase and plays like an interactive movie. Developed by Reflections Interactive (an Atari studio), the masterminds behind Driver and Driver 2 - which have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide - DRIV3R stays true to its roots, incorporating the cinematic gameplay and gritty street crime of its predecessors with ground breaking graphics and three mammoth, wide-open city environments. Featuring Hollywood-level production values and a gripping, narrative story line, DRIV3R casts players once again as Tanner, a jaw breaking, no-holds-barred undercover cop who does whatever it takes to bring the bad guys down. In DRIV3R, Tanner, alongside his longtime partner, Tobias Jones, must infiltrate a global car theft ring in tire squealing chases and fierce on-foot firefights while tailing gangsters, chasing witnesses, stealing cars and unloading massive clips of ammo to bring the criminals to justice. DRIV3R features include: •Blockbuster voice-over and scriptwriting talent involved from the ground up in the creation, production and performance of DRIV3R, including Michael Madsen as Tanner, Mickey Rourke as the sinister Jericho, Michelle Rodriguez as the sexy Calita, and Ving Rhames as Tanner's partner, Tobias Jones •Three gigantic and true-to-life cities, including Miami, Nice and Istanbul, with more than 35,000 buildings hand-placed and decorated for intricate detail and ultimate immersion •More than 150 miles of major highways and city streets to explore plus countless uncharted open areas, alleys, dirt roads and smaller byways •A stunning graphics engine creating massive photorealistic environments - both indoor and outdoor - filled with hundreds of destructible objects to be smashed and blasted both in vehicles and on foot •Complete destruction models allowing vehicles to crumble realistically as they are bashed, smashed and driven to the limits of their design •Unmatched driving and physics engine creating the most realistic vehicle performance in any game and the most exciting chases ever seen •A deep, narrative storyline that plays like an interactive movie, recreating the attitude, action and car chase sequences of modern gangster films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Pulp Fiction; nearly an hour of CGI video fleshing out the plot with dramatic scenes of sinister crime syndicate dealings •Multiple solutions to missions allowing players to plan strategically before they move in on the crooks and choose between a full frontal assault or a more surreptitious alternative, depending on gameplay tastes

•Driver's signature "Film Director" function, which records every move made in the game, allowing gamers to place cameras anywhere, edit and direct a sequence and save their own Hollywood car chase to memory card to share with friends; on Xbox, players can upload their films to Xbox for other fans to download and view •More than 70 controllable vehicles, including motorcycles, boats, police cars, vans, mopeds, muscle cars and fully articulated 18 wheelers DRIV3R is rated M for Mature by the ESRB and is expected to release in North America on June 21 and in Europe and Australia on June 22. For more information on DRIV3R, please visit the game's official Web site at www.DRIV3R.com.

********************************************** LOS ANGELES – June 21, 2004 – Atari has shipped DRIV3R, the highly anticipated action-driving game for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, to retail stores worldwide today. DRIV3R is an action-packed drivingadventure game that recreates the excitement of a Hollywood blockbuster car chase and plays like an interactive movie. “We are proud to bring one of the most anticipated console games of the year to store shelves,” said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Atari. “Reflections has done it again, expanding on the ground-breaking Driver franchise which set the bar for an entire genre and that gamers worldwide have known and loved for more than four years. The behind-the-wheel experience in DRIV3R – as in past installments – is second to none, from tire squealing car chases to body panel-bashing vehicle destruction. DRIV3R will keep gamers on the edge of their seats and looking for safety belts in their couches!” The next evolution of the hugely popular and successful Driver franchise, DRIV3R is developed by Reflections Interactive (an Atari studio), the masterminds of the franchise, which has sold more than 12 million units worldwide to date. DRIV3R stays true to its roots, incorporating the cinematic gameplay and gritty street crime of its predecessors with ground-breaking graphics and three mammoth, wide-open city environments. Featuring Hollywood-level production values and a gripping, narrative story line, DRIV3R casts players once again as Tanner, a jaw breaking, no-holds-barred undercover cop and master “Wheelman” who does whatever it takes to bring the bad guys down. This time, Tanner, alongside his longtime partner, Tobias Jones, must infiltrate a global car theft ring, surviving high-octane car chases and fierce on-foot firefights while tailing gangsters, chasing witnesses, stealing cars and unloading huge clips of ammo to bring the criminals to justice.

Rhames as Tanner’s partner, Tobias Jones Three gigantic and true-to-life cities, including Miami, Nice and Istanbul, with more than 35,000 buildings hand-placed and decorated for intricate detail and ultimate immersion More than 70 controllable vehicles, including motorcycles, boats, police cars, vans, mopeds, muscle cars and fully articulated 18 wheelers More than 150 miles of major highways and city streets to explore plus countless uncharted open areas, alleys, dirt roads and smaller byways A stunning graphics engine capable of creating massive photorealistic environments – both indoor and outdoor – filled with hundreds of destructible objects to be smashed and blasted both in vehicles and on foot Complete destruction model allows vehicles to crumble realistically as they are bashed, smashed and driven to the limits of their design Unmatched driving and physics engine creates the most exciting and fun vehicle performance in any game A deep, narrative storyline that plays like an interactive movie, recreating the attitude, action and car chase sequences of modern gangster films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Pulp Fiction; nearly an hour of CGI video fleshes out the plot with dramatic scenes of sinister crime syndicate dealings Multiple solutions to missions allow players to plan strategically before they move in on the crooks and choose between a full frontal assault or a more surreptitious alternative, depending on gameplay tastes Driver’s signature “Film Director” function, which records every move made in the game, allows gamers to place cameras anywhere and direct and save their own Hollywood car chase to memory cards; Xbox players can upload their homemade films to Xbox Live! for users worldwide to download and view. Sorrent Inc., a global leader in mobile entertainment, in partnership with Atari, has also shipped DRIV3R worldwide for mobile phones, featuring both in-car and out-of-car game play from a top-down perspective. With 16 missions available in Miami, Nice and Istanbul, DRIV3R for mobile phones features multiple vehicles and gameplay that becomes more challenging as the game progresses. As gamers successfully complete the Undercover Mode on the mobile game, cheat codes for the Xbox and PlayStation®2 versions are unlocked.

Game Features Major voice acting talent is involved in DRIV3R, including Michael Madsen as Tanner, Mickey Rourke as the sinister Jericho, Michelle Rodriguez as the sexy Calita and Ving

DRIV3R is currently available worldwide with an estimated retail price in North America of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of ‘M’ for Mature. For more information on DRIV3R, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.DRIV3R.com.

********************************************** LOS ANGELES – June 16, 2004 – Atari has shipped Shadow Ops: Red Mercury, the highly anticipated cinematic firstperson action game for the Xbox™ video game system from Microsoft, to retail stores worldwide this week. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury offers players a gripping movie-style experience through its unprecedented Hollywood production values, intense action and ground-breaking sound and visual effects. “Gamers will feel like they are saving the world in the latest big-budget blockbuster action film from the first moment their combat boots hit the ground in Shadow Ops: Red Mercury,” said Wim Stocks, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Atari. “With industry-leading sound effects that include THX™ Game Certification for the best audio and visuals, intense action from start to finish and an amazing storyline, the experience of playing this game is more like sitting in a top-end theater than sitting at home. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury completely immerses gamers in the cinematic feel and gripping Hollywood-style action of the game.” In the game, the player fills the battle-ready combat boots of Frank Hayden, a special forces operative hand-picked to track down and destroy the stolen 'Red Mercury,' a secret substance of unspeakable power that threatens the world with nuclear annihilation. The player will face off against blood-thirsty terrorists, renegade military forces and highly trained enemy special forces in a last ditch desperation mission to prevent the ultimate terror from reaching the world's greatest cities. Developer Zombie, Inc. partnered with AAA Hollywood talent for sound effects, script writing and music to make Shadow Ops: Red Mercury the most cinematic action game ever created, essentially blurring the line between Hollywood summer blockbuster films and interactive entertainment.

-- The game has earned the coveted THX® Game Certification, indicative of the immersive and compelling audio experience usually heard only in blockbuster Hollywood films. -- Writers Tag Mendillo and Ric Roman Waugh, renowned for work in films and video games, wrote the entire script for the game, including all in game cut-scenes and cinematics -- Developer Zombie, Inc. traveled the world researching locations for the game's levels, taking thousands of digital photos to create ultra-realistic textures for game locations like the Congo, Kazakhstan, Syria, Chechnya and more -- Zombie, Inc. met with military consultants, including former special forces members, to create realistic character motion and military movements in the game; special forces members also provided motion capture animation for the game's cinematics. -- More than 30 minutes of movie-like cinematics were created by Attitude Studios; cinematics were storyboarded and shot like a Hollywood film, using dramatic angles and sweeping shots to further immerse the player in the interactive blockbuster experience. -- Shadow Ops: Red Mercury uses Epic Games' industryleading Unreal® Engine to accurately recreate the realistic and gritty look of the game's many locations; the engine's power provides for eye-popping visuals, highly realistic textures, dramatic special effects and blistering multiplayer action. Shadow Ops: Red Mercury is available this week worldwide with an estimated retail cost of $49.95 and an ESRB rating of ‘T’ for Teen. For more information on Shadow Ops: Red Mercury, please visit the game’s official Web site at www.shadowopsgame.com.

********************************************** --From: Matthias Reichl --Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 09:50:40 -0700 New features in AtariSIO 0.30-pre1 are:

The game's groundbreaking features include: -- More than 25 hard-hitting single-player missions that span the globe across heat-scorched villages in the Middle East, bombed out cities in Chechnya, lush jungle guerrilla encampments in Congo and frozen vistas and secret underground military installations in Kazakhstan. -- Hyper-intense split-screen cooperative mode through 10 unique missions designed specifically for tag-team play -- Xbox Live! and System Link competitive multiplayer modes that include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Escort the V.I.P. for up to eight players -- Immersive directional sound for ultra-realistic combat situations created by Soundelux, the Academy Award-winning sound studio best known for its work on films such as 'Kill Bill,' 'Gladiator' and 'Black Hawk Down'. -- An all-original score created by Inon Zur, a renowned composer of award-winning music for film, video games and television, that includes more than an hour of sweeping interactive music that reacts to the player's actions and changes for each location. -- All music for the game was recorded by the Northwest Symphonia, providing for a powerful performance and a more compelling audio experience.

- atariserver now comes with a completely new curses frontend - the kernel driver is compatible with 2.6.x kernels - added preliminary support for the ATP format - lots of other smaller fixes and improvements AtariSIO can be downloaded from my homepage: http://www.horus.com/~hias/atari/ so long, Hias

********************************************** --Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 14:32:50 -0700 Vasco/Tristesse has announced: New site with screens from Games for Atari XL/XE. In polish, but "1 picture is 1000 words" :) http://ekranownia.atari8.info/ [This news item courtesy of Atari.org - http://www.atari.org/]

********************************************** --Date: Wed, 02 Jun 2004 16:53:08 -0700 Hi folks, a new version of Atari++, the C++ based Atari 8 bit emulator for Linux and win32 is available for download at: http://www.math.tu-berlin.de/~thor/atari++/ This release improves both, emulation quality, and stability. The 1.33 had two major bugs that could crash the emulation, one in the file requester due to a buffer overrun, and another in the sound emulation startup. Both were fixed. The 1.35 release also improves audio emulation for the 16 bit counters were the emulation of the low-part of the counter was just plain wrong. This helps for emulation of a couple of Basic type-in listings and special sound effects used there. I also improved the scanline/DLI emulation timing that was off by one cycle in 1.33 and did not emulate a special feature of Antic if a DLI is delayed due to a WSYNC. Also new: A new release of the Atari emulation Os, os++, to be found on the same URL. This release improves emulation of the character editor device, E: whose backspace handling was a bit broken if the cursor position was poke'd to. Full Release History: - Fixed a segfault in the file/directory requester due to a buffer overrun when extracting the file or path-part of the selected path. - Pokey emulation of the low-part of 16 bit counters was incorrect up to this release. This fixes sound effects of various Basic type-in listings. - Added finer Pokey volume control. - Added emulation of Pokey nonlinearities. - Antic DLI timing was partially incorrect, the DLI signal was generated one cycle too late with DMA registers sampled too early. Users of earlier releases should adjust their preferences and set the "BeforeDLIClocks" to eleven (11) instead of twelve. - Added emulation of Antic DLI behaviour if the CPU is stopped. ANTIC does not generate an NMI signal immediately, but waits again for the next possible NMI generation slot in its horizontal scanline. - Fixed the behaviour of the backspace key/control code in the E: handler of the built-in Os emulation. This fixes a couple of Basic games. - Fixed a critical bug in the Pokey emulation that could have caused crashes on startup due to non-initialized variables. Have fun, Thomas

********************************************** --Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 09:08:43 -0700 The new version of the Atari800MacX, the Atari 8-bit

emulator for Mac OS X has been released. This new version features a large number of changes and improvements. Some of the major changes include the addition of a Media Window showing the status of disk, cassette, and cartridge media, a built-in Disk Image Editor, ability to drag and drop disk images, cartridge images, state files into the emulator window, and much more. Please visit the Atari800MacX page for complete details about what's new and to download the latest version (source code is also available). http://members.cox.net/atarimac/ [This news item courtesy of Atari.org - http://www.atari.org/]